The Ides of January
Here at a balance point.
The first-quarter moon rises tonight or tomorrow night; Capricorn ends in seven or eight days. It's "winter", but in the Florida keys that word hasn't much meaning.
Work at the Grove has begun. A first exercise about past and future has excited some stuff inside my head. Like:
* the past may be mutable after all. How would it be if I could look back at some past action or event and see what I learned from it that I still value? How can I look at the event from a different viewpoint? What would be different for me if I saw that event or action as "for my highest good" ?
* the future may not be predictable or more than a bit controllable, but what if I can "know" and "intend" my way toward the future I choose?
* Time may be linear or it may be cyclic or even circular ... how would it change my experience if I experienced time differently?
I am reminded of a book I read a couple of years ago called The Judgment, by D.W. Buffa. It's a legal thriller generally in the tradition of Grisham or Turow, but it turns on a specific episode of changing the past, by changing the world's perception of it. Made me wonder, at the time, how our perception of ourselves in our families would change if we suddenly learned something startling about the family that we had never known or guessed at ... say, "Dad had a whole other family before we were born" or "Mom wrote the decade's big best-seller under a pseudonym while we were in school", to give two examples.
What do I think I "know" about myself now that might be improved by changing my understanding of the past? Hmm.
Second Summit is making genuine progress. The 5-page list of critical-path items has nearly half of them checked off, and several others are in the final stages of completion. A first clean-up of the saloon has reduced its clutter by about half, and removed all the "parts" and "tools". Dear Husband and I still have a lot of personal gear to stow, moved here out of Orion, but a lot of the "dirty" mess is gone. Some of the bigger unknowns have been handled -- we have a functioning electronic system (now we get to practice until we know how to use it), a functioning battery-charging system, a non-leaking pressure-water system, an operational forward head. We know what kind of satellite phone we want to rent and are now doing price-comparison for where to rent it from. We've collected info on life rafts and know where to buy jacklines of the right length.
Still to come: a finished installation of the fuel system (gutted for leaks and cumbersome layout, redesigned by three separate people two of whom no longer work here). It's coming along, but slowly, hampered by inexperience and close quarters without much room to work. A functioning weather system. Final installation of the davits to hold the dinghy, and some dinghy repairs that seem crucial before departure.
Can we leave in another week? Not sure yet; but at least we're clear on a target date.
Orion has been sold and that transaction is complete. Her new owner is just the right sort of person for her, and seems to love most everything about her, especially her beautiful hull shape. She seems pleased to have him more than sorry to lose us.
Yoga practice has been wonderfully rewarding. I'm teaching a class at the marina -- or a nearby park in good weather -- and enjoying it immensely. A side benefit has been that my personal yoga practice is more nearly on track. It's lovely to get back in practice at teaching after a few weeks hiatus ... which was enough to see that 'getting rusty' serves no one.
Family life has been rich and good here, three weeks living on the boat with DH and Beloved Younger Son has turned out to be just fine. It's amazing how wonderful the children are when I can relate to them as the adults they are. Beloved Elder Son is getting married in a couple of weeks, and it's lovely to get to watch bits and pieces of the logistical preparation for that from this long-distance perspective.
It's been a little odd elsewhere, though; turbulence and drama in another part of the family over finances and old commitments, and just lately it appears some unauthorized creditcard use. Hard to know what to do about that, but my job is mainly just to watch and listen and offer support. There isn't much about this situation that I can fix or interfere with.
So ...
A moment of balance.
The first-quarter moon rises tonight or tomorrow night; Capricorn ends in seven or eight days. It's "winter", but in the Florida keys that word hasn't much meaning.
Work at the Grove has begun. A first exercise about past and future has excited some stuff inside my head. Like:
* the past may be mutable after all. How would it be if I could look back at some past action or event and see what I learned from it that I still value? How can I look at the event from a different viewpoint? What would be different for me if I saw that event or action as "for my highest good" ?
* the future may not be predictable or more than a bit controllable, but what if I can "know" and "intend" my way toward the future I choose?
* Time may be linear or it may be cyclic or even circular ... how would it change my experience if I experienced time differently?
I am reminded of a book I read a couple of years ago called The Judgment, by D.W. Buffa. It's a legal thriller generally in the tradition of Grisham or Turow, but it turns on a specific episode of changing the past, by changing the world's perception of it. Made me wonder, at the time, how our perception of ourselves in our families would change if we suddenly learned something startling about the family that we had never known or guessed at ... say, "Dad had a whole other family before we were born" or "Mom wrote the decade's big best-seller under a pseudonym while we were in school", to give two examples.
What do I think I "know" about myself now that might be improved by changing my understanding of the past? Hmm.
Second Summit is making genuine progress. The 5-page list of critical-path items has nearly half of them checked off, and several others are in the final stages of completion. A first clean-up of the saloon has reduced its clutter by about half, and removed all the "parts" and "tools". Dear Husband and I still have a lot of personal gear to stow, moved here out of Orion, but a lot of the "dirty" mess is gone. Some of the bigger unknowns have been handled -- we have a functioning electronic system (now we get to practice until we know how to use it), a functioning battery-charging system, a non-leaking pressure-water system, an operational forward head. We know what kind of satellite phone we want to rent and are now doing price-comparison for where to rent it from. We've collected info on life rafts and know where to buy jacklines of the right length.
Still to come: a finished installation of the fuel system (gutted for leaks and cumbersome layout, redesigned by three separate people two of whom no longer work here). It's coming along, but slowly, hampered by inexperience and close quarters without much room to work. A functioning weather system. Final installation of the davits to hold the dinghy, and some dinghy repairs that seem crucial before departure.
Can we leave in another week? Not sure yet; but at least we're clear on a target date.
Orion has been sold and that transaction is complete. Her new owner is just the right sort of person for her, and seems to love most everything about her, especially her beautiful hull shape. She seems pleased to have him more than sorry to lose us.
Yoga practice has been wonderfully rewarding. I'm teaching a class at the marina -- or a nearby park in good weather -- and enjoying it immensely. A side benefit has been that my personal yoga practice is more nearly on track. It's lovely to get back in practice at teaching after a few weeks hiatus ... which was enough to see that 'getting rusty' serves no one.
Family life has been rich and good here, three weeks living on the boat with DH and Beloved Younger Son has turned out to be just fine. It's amazing how wonderful the children are when I can relate to them as the adults they are. Beloved Elder Son is getting married in a couple of weeks, and it's lovely to get to watch bits and pieces of the logistical preparation for that from this long-distance perspective.
It's been a little odd elsewhere, though; turbulence and drama in another part of the family over finances and old commitments, and just lately it appears some unauthorized creditcard use. Hard to know what to do about that, but my job is mainly just to watch and listen and offer support. There isn't much about this situation that I can fix or interfere with.
So ...
A moment of balance.